


Wolves Dancing Around The Bonfire

by shopfront



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Cats, Celebrations, Cuddling & Snuggling, Drinking, Extra Treat, F/F, Friends With Benefits, Getting Together, Holidays, Missing Scene, Night, Pumpkins, ToT: Monster Mash, Trick or Treat: Chocolate Box, Trick or Treat: Treat, Werewolves, Wolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-23 13:09:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12508160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shopfront/pseuds/shopfront
Summary: Oz wasn't the first place where Ruby lost the scent while searching for her pack. But they stumble on a party while they try to find it again, and Mulan finds a way to help her keep the loneliness at bay.





	Wolves Dancing Around The Bonfire

**Author's Note:**

  * For [coaldustcanary](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coaldustcanary/gifts).



“Trees, trees, and more trees,” Ruby said despondently as they walked.

Mulan’s lips quirked at the corners. “Many of the realms we have seen are heavily forested, yes,” she agreed. “But is it not helpful to find forests that a pack might wish to run through?”

“I suppose,” Ruby said, and then heaved a great sigh. “I guess I’m just getting a little tired of searching forest after forest and not finding anything. It’s been so long since I’ve been able to find a scent again. It’s starting to feel like there’s nothing out here anymore.”

“Not nothing,” said Mulan in a gently scolding tone. “You said you sensed many fires, and the smell of a village was ahead of us. That is something. Perhaps someone there can point us in the right direction.”

Ruby just shrugged her shoulders and shoved aside a hanging branch a little roughly till it snapped off in her hand. “Oops,” she said, pausing and staring at it. 

Mulan just laughed. “How much further to the village?” she asked, and Ruby gestured vaguely ahead of them. 

“Just over there,” she said. “You’d probably be able to see it already if that hill wasn’t blocking the way.”

“Well, then,” Mulan said as she grabbed Ruby by the elbow and tugging her back onto the path. “I suggest we get moving.”

*

“Oh,” Ruby said, turning in a circle. “It’s… loud.”

There was nobody in sight, just dark houses and a wide street. But raucous sound echoed down the street and a hint of firelight could be seen flickering just around the far corner, reaching tendrils of brightness back toward them.

Mulan nodded and hung back closer to the tree line. “It's not exactly what I expected,” she half said, half yelled. "Perhaps we should find out what they're celebrating before we enter the village?"

Ruby turned back from the street she had already started walking down to smirk. "Just because someone tried to throw us on a bonfire _one time_ , Mulan-"

“Visitors!” A stranger rounded the corner, and then cried out and hurried to approach them. Her hair was bound up and weaved through with small golden leaves, and a wide smile graced her face. “Please, please, come this way. The festival is about to begin, and strangers are most welcome!”

Ruby smiled back just as widely and turned to hold out a hand to Mulan. “We’d be delighted to join your festival,” she said. “Wouldn’t we, Mulan?”

“You honour us with the invitation given you know nothing of us,” was all that Mulan said, though she did finally enter the bounds of the village and grudgingly took Ruby’s offered hand. Though first she frowned pointedly until she was sure Ruby knew she wasn't well pleased about having to remove it from the hilt of her sword to do so.

The woman made a dismissive noise and bounded ahead. “We do not need to know you to invite you! My name is Delia,” she said as she walked. There was a bounce in her step, and as she lead the way her hands strayed up absentmindedly to tuck the leaves deeper into her hair. “We are always glad to invite strangers to join in with the harvest festival. It is a time of bounty and for the sharing of joy, after all.”

“Huh,” Ruby said, then shrugged. “Okay, harvest festival it is! Tell me though, do you have any wolves around here?”

“Around the village?” Delia asked, eyes wide. Ruby faltered for a moment, eyes widening as well, but then Delia just laughed and smiled. “Oh, you will enjoy the festival. There is a pack of wolves who live nearby and each year they let us feed them and set them off on a run to celebrate the season. We have an animal charmer who lives in the village who works with them, you see.”

Mulan squeezed Ruby’s hand as she watched her face brighten and then fall as Delia spoke. “We would like to meet him,” she said, covering for Ruby’s disappointment. Even if they did turn out to be true wolves, it was at least a sliver of a chance.

“And so you shall,” Delia said, leading them around the corner with a flourish. Suddenly the noise level made sense as they found themselves ushered to the edge of a large open square. "He should be somewhere in the crowd."

The square was bounded on three sides by buildings and on the fourth side by more forest, and in the centre raged a bonfire that Mulan turned narrowed eyes on. Around the edges of the space were tables and stalls filled to bursting with food, and large logs were scattered about with people sitting on and around them. Each cluster of seats had a pile of pumpkins nearby and some people were carving them as they laughed and ate.

A black cat brushed up against Mulan’s ankle, making her jump. It purred at her for a moment, then sat down and licked a paw before turning wide eyes silently on Ruby.

“Nice kitty,” Ruby said hesitantly. After staring at her for another moment more the creature stood and wound its way back into the crowd.

“That’s Dagger,” Deliah said, then explained further when both Mulan and Ruby turned confused faces toward her. “Because his claws feel like little daggers,” she said with a giggle. “There’s lots of cats around the village and any of the others would be more than happy to sit in your lap, but not Dagger. He only answers to one person and, oh, we can probably follow him to the charmer! This way!”

Mulan and Ruby tried to follow her dive into the crowd, but quickly lost her. 

“I can see her, over there,” Ruby said some time later, standing on tip toe occasionally to peer around people. “Mulan,” she continued slowly, pausing a moment to consider a group of seats. “Does this... remind you of anything?”

Mulan followed her gaze and shook her head. “It does not.”

“Nevermind. I suppose it’s just a Storybrooke thing, really.”

Mulan’s brow furrowed. “What is?”

“It just. I don’t know. All of this. I feel like I’ve fallen through the looking glass and landed in Halloween land. Which is absurd, there is no Halloween land. I don’t remember reading or seeing any of the usual stories about a place like this, and yet….”

“Hal-lo-ween?” Mulan repeated.

Ruby chuckled. “It's a holiday in that realm. With, well, pumpkins and cats and wolves and fires. Really, all we need is a little magic and I think we’d have most of the basics just about covered.”

“And there are no stories surrounding this Hal-lo-ween?”

“Oh, yes, yes I suppose there are. But none of them are anything like this,” Ruby said quickly, warming to her topic as they ducked and weaved and searched for Deliah and then ducked and weaved some more. “None of them are stories set in a specific place, not like our stories. They’re also all a bit more, well, spooky. I suppose.”

“I was cautious about entering an unknown settlement during a celebration, but I agree. This does not feel ‘spooky,’” Mulan said. Then she smiled and tucked her hand back into Ruby’s. “Where did Deliah go?” she asked, when Ruby looked down at their hands in surprise.

“Um, she, um,” Ruby stood on tip toe again, “is over there!”

*

“Just regular wolves,” Ruby said for the hundredth time many hours later. 

The charmer had led them both into the little patch of forest by the square to meet the somewhat tame wolves. Ruby had been delighted to see them at first, but there was no mistaking that nothing human lurked behind those eyes. They hadn’t objected to her presence though, and some of the younger cubs had rough housed with her for a time until the charmer had wished to return to the celebration.

“But you have ale,” Mulan reminded her.

“But I have ale!” Ruby echoed, raising her mug and then wobbling and collapsing back against Mulan’s shoulder. “You held my hand again,” she continued sadly, then hiccuped.

Mulan chuckled, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders to brace her. “Yes, I did.”

“You’re my friend,” Ruby said, and Mulan nodded. “I can’t….”

“Be Aurora for me?” Mulan asked. Ruby nodded sadly and Mulan struggled to hold back a chuckle. “I know. We spoke about this earlier. At least three ales earlier, if I’m counting right.”

“Oh,” Ruby said, peering into her mug. “It’s just, you’re my friend! But I liked holding your hand.”

“Perhaps you could be my friend _and_ hold my hand. I think we're both lonely enough without also trying to make those two things mutually exclusive,” Mulan murmured as she reached to take away the nearly empty mug. “Also, I think that might be enough ale. You still want to be able to stand to watch the run, don’t you?”

Ruby made a happy throaty noise and dropped her head against Mulan’s shoulder. “There’s still time, right? I’m warm and sleepy but my back is cold, and I don’t want to miss the cubs. They're not like me, but they're still so cute! Like you! You're really cute.”

Mulan shifted them around and fought Ruby’s clumsy attempts to help until she was wrapped securely around Ruby from behind. “There,” she said with satisfaction. “Now the fire will keep you warm from the front and I will keep your back warm. I can also wake you before the wolves run. Delia said we couldn't possibly miss everyone getting ready for it.”

Ruby melted into the embrace and turned to tuck her head under Mulan’s chin. “Will you hold my hand again while we watch them run?” she asked sleepily.

Mulan smiled at the bonfire over Ruby’s head. “If you still want me to, once the ale has worn off,” she said with a chuckle, and then tucked her arms tighter around Ruby as she drifted off.


End file.
